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LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 



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AN 



APPEAL 



TO THE 



PEOPLE OF MASSACHUSETTS, 



ON 



THE TEXAS QUESTION. 



C'j 




BOSTON: 

CHARLES C. LITTLE AND JAMES BROWN. 

1844. 



CAMBRIDGE: 

METCALF AND COMPANY, 

PRINTERS TO THE UNIVERSITY. 



APPEAL. 



The course pursued by the Administration in reference 
to the annexation of Texas renders a crisis inevitable. As 
the policy is developed, — as its consequences begin to be 
seriously contemplated, — as the spirit of the movement is clear- 
ly manifested, — the people of the Free States will cease to be 
apathetic, and, under the circumstances which may arise, can 
hardly fail to become intensely excited. The tone of the 
Message and of Mr. Calhoun's correspondence has at once 
deprived the Northern advocates of the measure of the advan- 
tage of a prudent and " humbugging" poHcy. Mr. Calhoun's 
views have exploded the theory, seized upon with avidity by 
some who have evidently been desirous of misleading others, 
that the annexation of Texas might tend to the abolition of 
slavery. It is now clear that the only design of the measure 
— the avowed design, too — is, to fortify, extend, and perpetu- 
ate the slave-holding power ; to insure to the Slave-holding 
States the control of the General Government for all domes- 
tic purposes ; and to make the General Government, in their 
hands, instrumental in effecting a foreign policy which shall 
place this country in immediate and constant hostility to Eng- 
land upon the great question of universal emancipation, and 
in reference to all measures and interests connected therewith. 

Now, that this is a project as dangerous as it is wicked, and 
as alarming as it is bold, will be seen — and it may be pre- 



sumed that it is already seen and felt — by the great'mass of 
the people of the Free States. The Message and its ac- 
companying documents have scarcely yet reached the extremi- 
ties of the Free States ; but such was the prevailing anxiety 
in advance of their reception, that it cannot be doubted they 
will be universally and eagerly read at the earliest possible 
moment, — and that, as soon as they are read, there will be but 
one feeling in regard to what is about to be attempted by the 
Administration, and in respect to the duty, to the extent of 
what is practicable, of defeating such an attempt. 

The chief point for consideration is, therefore. What is prac- 
ticable ? Some appear to be too faint-hearted to think long 
enough to answer this question. But with a little considera- 
tion, we may be able to answer it in such terms as not only 
to suggest a practicable course, but to encourage us to pursue it. 
In the first place, let it be suggested that it must be much 
easier to concentrate public sentiment in the Free States upon 
the question of Annexation, now that it can be presented as a 
distinct issue, — not connected with an election, — than when it 
was merged, by common consent, in the support of candidates 
for the Presidency, the position of no one of whom, or at 
most of only one, (Mr. Polk,) was unquestionable or une- 
quivocal in respect to this subject in all its bearings. No 
Whig can fail to admit that the Whig party, in many of the 
Free States, was seriously embarrassed and weakened by the 
letters of Mr. Clay upon this subject ; and deeply as it is 
regretted, and clearly as it now appears to have been a fatal 
error of policy, the unwillingness of many zealous and honest 
Abolitionists to come in to the support of Mr. Clay is in some 
measure palliated by the consideration, that they could only be 
expected to support Mr. Clay for the sake of opposing Mr. 
Polk, — and that his friends had no warrant for claiming in be- 
half of Mr. Clay any principles or opinions which could en- 
title him to the confidence and sympathy of those who con- 
sidered this question, primarily, if not solely, in its connection 



with slavery. The Whigs in the Free States were also all the 
while deterred from arguing the Texas question upon its broad 
merits, through the fear of producing a dangerous reaction in the 
Slave-holding States, lohose votes they unfortunately relied 
upon. In some degree, occasionally, incidentally, sufficient- 
ly to show that they recognized and concurred in the public 
sentiment of their own communities, they alluded to it in 
speeches, and introduced it into Resolutions ; but, as a party, 
with the exceptions which will be stated, they did not attempt 
to make the election turn upon it. No : in justice to an im- 
portant view of the subject, but without the slightest wish to 
reproach the Whigs of the Free States, let the truth be con- 
fessed, — that their position, their candidate, their relation to 
Southern Whigs, the fatal idea that they were sure to succeed 
without doing so in the North, and in part by reason of not 
doing so in the South, the prevalent disposition amongst them 
to abstain from any seeming cooperation in the measures of 
Abolitionists, combined to deter them from making the Texas 
question the main issue in the election, and from occupying that 
decisive position in regard to it, which might have secured to 
them the vote of every Free State, — or would have placed 
them, as a defeated party, in an altitude of moral dignity and 
hearty union, the surest vantage-ground for a final struggle. 

The Whig Free States entitled to be exempted from the 
application of the foregoing remarks are Massachusetts and 
Vermont. In both of these States the Whigs ventured to 
speak and act openly and boldly, and to commit themselves in 
reference to future action upon the slavery issues. In both 
of these States, instead of purposely avoiding to do so, the 
Whigs aimed to make their candidates for State offices such 
as were beyond doubt or suspicion upon these points ; and 
throughout the canvass, in a course of deliberative discussion 
which proved that they were contending for principles, the 
Whig speakers labored effectively to exhibit the most striking 

views of this great topic, — Texas and Slavery, ^^ one and 
J * 



inseparable.''^ The result shows that what was thus done is 
what should have been done ; and it shows, too, with what 
power and to what extent public opinion has already declared 
itself in these two States, when indirectly appealed to for the 
purpose, — and what may be expected of i/iem, when the call 
is made to rally exclusively for the vindication of the rights of 
Free States, and of free citizens of the Union, against the 
arrogant, unconstitutional, and mercenary demands of the 
slave-holding power. 

To some extent, the prevailing policy of the Whigs, in ab- 
staining from presenting a direct issue upon the Texas ques- 
tion, was adopted by their opponents in the Free States. 
Absurd as such a course appears, it was the course pursued 
by an important section of the Democratic party in New York, 
to give their support to Mr. Polk, under a faintly uttered pro- 
test against the recognition of his principles and purposes in 
regard to the annexation of Texas, — coupled with a concerted 
effort to elect such Democratic members of Congress as 
would not cooperate in carrying them into effect. Nowhere 
in that State was the election contested upon the Texas issue, 
fairly and fully presented ; and it is impossible to investigate 
the proceedings of the Democratic party in detail, without 
reaching the conclusion, that many of the leaders are in reality 
opposed to Annexation, — and that all of them acted cautiously, 
upon the presumption that the party could not be carried for 
the measure, if openly and unconditionally proposed. In New 
York, still further, as the result of the election, the electo- 
ral vote of the State was given to Mr. Polk, merely because 
upwards of fifteen thousand opponents of Annexation were 
not prepared to support Mr. Clay, and, by running a third 
ticket, — although they thereby contributed to place Mr. Polk 
m a minority, — made themselves instrumental in securing all the 
political, and, so far as it is misunderstood, all the moral, effect 
of a triumph to the candidate of a minority. Where the facts 
are not misunderstood, it is seen that Mr. Polk has received the 



electoral vote of New York in opposition to the declared 
wishes of a majority of her citizens, — and that he has thereby, 
against the true voice of the people, become the President 
elect. Upon analyzing the result, and obtaining an explanation 
of some unusual facts, it has been satisfactorily shown, that, had 
the election in New York turned upon the Texas question, — 
had but two candidates been proposed as representing the op- 
posite sides of that question, — and had all party and personal 
considerations not affecting that question been for the time 
foregone, — the decision of New York would have been as em- 
phatically pronounced against Annexation as has been the de- 
cision of Massachusetts and Vermont. 

What is thus inferred from notorious and striking facts in re- 
gard to the public sentiment in New York may unquestion- 
ably be assumed in reference to most of the other Free States 
whose electoral votes have been given to Mr. Polk. In 
Michigan the result was precisely analogous to that in New 
York ; the choice having been secured to Mr. Polk, as the 
highest candidate, by a minority of votes, in consequence of a 
considerable support of a third ticket by the Abolitionists. 
In New Hampshire and Maine, there may be less reason than 
elsewhere for imputing to the leaders, or to the body of the 
" Democracy," the honorable motive of being incapable of sur- 
rendering unconditionally and irrevocably, without honor and 
without benefit, the rights and interests which belong to them 
as Free States ; still, even in New Hampshire and in 
Maine, facts are not wanting to prove that a right spirit is be- 
ginning to manifest itself, and that even there party discipline 
will prove insufficient to force a wrong decision upon a ques- 
tion which a free people must in the end resolve to understand 
and decide for themselves. 

Many details might be added which would fortify the posi- 
tion, that the recent election should be construed only as prov- 
ing conclusively, although indirectly, that the Free States are 
not to be supposed indifierent to or unprepared for the per- 



formance of their proper duty upon the Texas question. It 
cannot be inferred that the subject has as yet been duly weighed 
or fully discussed, and that the people are ready on the instant 
to rise in the strength of their intelligence and moral firmness 
to say and to do all that becomes them. Time — a little 
time used to the best purpose — may be required to make every 
thing properly understood ; but let every thing connected with 
the subject be properly understood, — let it be seen and felt that 
a crisis is impending, — let our moral and religious obligations, 
in connection with our civil and social duties, be so expounded 
that they shall be universally realized, — let the call be made 
upon all citizens, without distinction of party, to act together for 
this purpose alone, — and it must be to disbelieve all that ever 
has been true of the people of the Free States, all that is glo- 
rious in their history, the great principles which have made 
them what they are, and the admitted tendencies of their insti- 
tutions, to suppose it doubtful that they will respond to such a 
call promptly, harmoniously, and effectually. 

In Massachusetts, let us thank God, it has never yet been true 
that an attempt to sustain her character has failed, — or that 
her example, in any exigency, has been without its effect upon 
her sister States. She has never been without leaders who 
seem to have been born for great occasions ; and they have 
never begun to make the efforts required of them without find- 
ing themselves strengthened, beyond their utmost expectations, 
by public confidence, sympathy, and support. From the com- 
mencement of the preparations for the American Revolution, 
to conceive a high and noble purpose has been in her history 
but the first step in an irresistible progress towards its accom- 
phshment, under whatever circumstances of difficulty or dan- 
ger ; and so long as the Bible inspires faith in God, and the 
Bunker Hill Monument reminds us of what our fathers dared 
and suffered for liberty, so long may it be expected that no 
crisis will find the people of Massachusetts, on the score of 
principle or courage, unprepared to meet it. 



To the question, — What is practicable for the purpose of 
exerting an effectual influence in opposition to the annexation of 
Texas ? — let the answer be given, that, the question being such 
as it is, — of vital importance to the rights and interests, and 
involving the character, of the Free States, — it needs only to 
be properly presented for consideration to insure its being con- 
sidered ; and that the people of the Free States, as soon as 
they can deliberate upon the subject, will be ready to act. 
That they may deliberate and act at once, — that their proceed- 
ings may be as prompt and effective as possible, — it is manifest- 
ly expedient that somewhere, and, for the reasons implied in 
the preceding paragraph, it is proposed that in Massachusetts, 
a co]NfVENTioN OF THE PEOPLE, icUIiout distinction of pcirly^ 
should be called, to express the sentiments of the people upon 
he Texas question, in all its bearings. At this Convention 
let there be a discussion worthy of the object, and of the 
character of those assembled to accomplish it. Let our lead- 
ing statesmen expound the true design of the Constitution of 
the United States, and show ho.v it is proposed to disregard 
and violate it. Let them exhibit in detail the origin and 
progress of the Texas project, and show conclusively in what 
it must result. Let them illustrate, from the political history of 
the country, the succession of evils which have resulted from the 
attempt to maintain the Union upon the impracticable basis of an 
exact and perpetual equipoise of Free and Slave-holding States, 
— and from regarding as the most sacred provisions of the Con- 
stitution those which contain, xoithout alluding to it, the avowed 
guaranties of slavery. Let them show also, historically, how 
far it was from the intention of the fraraers of the Constitution 
to regard slavery otherwise than as a temporary institution, 
a political and moral evil, and an unsuitable element of a repub- 
lican government ; and how little they designed to entail upon 
their posterity, for a succession of generations, and without 
any provision for relief, such a burden as slavery has proved in 
all its direct and indirect consequences, — in its influence upon 



10 

the master, as well as upon the slave, — and in its tendency to 
obstruct the establishment of an enlightened national policy, to 
multiply sources of social and civil degradation, and to excite 
and produce never-ending and wide-spread disaffection and 
animosity among those who, as fellow-countrymen, ought to be, 
and but for this cause might be, political brethren. Let them 
expose the short-sighted policy which has once and again misled 
and insnared so many of the constituted guardians of the rights 
and interests of the Free States, under the pretext of a patri- 
otic compromise of sectional differences, — by inducing them to 
concur in authorizing the annexation of Slave Territory and the 
multiplication of Slave States, and in thus preventing, for an 
indefinite period, the natural extinction of the national curse. 
Let them refer to the pregnant fact, that it was only the last 
census which began to show clearly, that, if the Union should 
remain as it is, it is the destiny of the Free States to ascend, 
and of the Slave-holding States to descend, in the scale of po- 
litical power, according to the increase or diminution of their 
respective delegations in the House of Representatives, and in 
the electoral colleges ; and that it is just at this juncture, — be- 
fore another census shall have put it for ever out of the power 
of the Slave-holding States to maintain their pretensions, and 
before the organization of the Free States which are rapidly 
•growing up within the territories of Wisconsin and Iowa shall 
have destroyed, also for ever, the balance of power in the Senate, 
upon which they relied as their last security, — that they have 
resorted, with the madness of desperation, to the anomalous ex- 
pedient of extending slavery into the regions of a sister repub- 
lic, and of procuring the annexation of that republic to this, 
through a series of measures commencing in a clandestine nego- 
tiation on the part of the President and his Cabinet, — which, 
foiled by the wisdom and firmness of a patriotic Senate, is to 
be followed by an attempt to overthrow the executive functions 
of the Senate by an utterly unconstitutional exercise of legis- 
lative power. In this manner, but to a much greater extent, 



11 



let the serious and weighty pohtical considerations of which 
the subject is fruitful be plainly and forcibly urged upon public 
attention ; and let the statesmen, who can do it with so much 
effect, mature and propound the policy of the Free States, — 
which, for the prevention of the threatened evil, should be firm- 
ly and fearlessly avowed and adopted. 

But let not the voice of statesmen alone be heard upon an 
occasion of such general interest. Let the many enlightened 
and virtuous citizens amongst us, to whom political questions 
are not ordinarily interesting, who retire from party contests, 
but who, nevertheless, are ready to serve their country when 
in danger, and who take a deep interest in all movements affect- 
ing the welfare of their race, — let our philanthropists from every 
sphere of beneficence, — let our clergy, who, if they are dis- 
ciples as well as apostles of Christ, must be sure to unite their 
prayers and counsels in such a cause, — let our good men of 
every class and age, — the long retired, and the still active, — all 
who have hearts to feel, and who dare to obey their conscien- 
ces, — all who can and must act in more or less important spheres 
of influence, and whose example will be regarded, — let all 
such, a select yet mighty multitude, be found, upon the call for a 
Convention, " of one accord in one place " ; and with hearty 
good-will, let them stimulate, and encourage, and help each 
other to perform a common duty. 

If the members of the Convention are agreed in sentiment 
and feeling, — as who does not foresee that when they will thus 
come together they must be ? — let them appoint a committee 
consisting of such as are worthy of so high a trust, to address 
to Congress a Memorial, which shall set forth, in "thoughts 
that breathe and words that burn," their principles and pur- 
poses, — which shall present in bold outline and in its full dimen- 
sions the Constitutional argument which the case requires, — 
which shall recite all the reasons and plainly declare the mo- 
tives that justify their determination to maintain the Union as it 
is, in opposition to a design rebuked alike by the object of the 



12 

Union and the spi it of the Constitution, and conflicting di- 
rectly with the highest purposes of a repubhcan government. 

In such a Memorial there need be no threat, but there should 
be the decisive indication of a determined spirit. It should 
be clothed with strength, the strength of argument ; it should 
be armed with power, the power of moral and religious princi- 
ple ; and it should go forth upon a high and holy mission to 
reach the understandings, the consciences, and the hearts of 
those to whom it is addressed. It should be a document so 
marked in its character, and so well adapted in its style and 
tone to engage and fix public attention, that, from this cause, 
as well as because it must derive so much authority from the 
occasion of its adoption, it will be worthy of a historical com- 
panionship with the memorable documents emanating from 
Massachusetts at the period of the Revolution, which wrought 
conviction in the minds of Burke and Chatham, which flashed 
the light of prophecy upon a long blinded ministry, and which 
converted the haughty tone of menace into the submissive ac- 
cents of conciliation. Such a Memorial should also answer 
the purpose of an appeal, or should be coupled with an appeal, 
to the people of the other Free States, — prompting them all 
to the presentation of similar Memorials, and thus insuring the 
full effect of their combined efforts. 

To have held such a Convention, and to have presented 
such a Memorial, will have prepared Massachusetts, and in 
succession all the Free States, for all further duties connected 
with the object. An organization will have been formed which 
will necessarily subsist in unimpaired vigor, so long as there 
shall be occasion for it ; and which, by degrees, can hardly fail 
to extend itself sufficiently to embrace the great mass of the 
people of all the Free States, — if so be that nothing short of 
such a mighty movement can arrest the conspiracy which has 
been formed against them. When the tide shall flow to this 
height, — when only the moral influence of the united action 
of the Free States shall begin to be felt, — who can doubt 



]3 

that it will sweep away at once, and for ever, all that is op- 
posed to it ? Let the power of the Slave-holding States — 
as many as they are, and united if they can be — threaten and 
dare its utmost, be it disunion, nullification, or, in the worst 
event, civil xoar ; the Free States will have only to maintain 
with dignity and firmness their appropriate position under the 
Constitution and within the Union, and await without appre- 
hension the certain result of so unequal a contest. Where 
there is a contest, Freedom can never be overcome by Slav- 
ery ; " the Almighty has no attribute " that will not take part on 
the side of truth and justice ; and the sympathy of the free and 
good, the world over, will cheer them on to a glorious victory. 
We may thus anticipate a contest, and we may safely pre- 
dict a victory ; but, (proposing the use of no other weapons 
than argument and persuasion, and relying upon the moral pow- 
er of the union of the Free States to render hopeless all op- 
position, we may indulge the belief that the contest will not 
involve civil war, and that the victory will be bloodless. The 
spirit of the age, which is gradually becoming the pacific spirit 
of Christianity, — the object we have in view, which confines 
us strictly to a defensive policy, — the absurdity and the mad- 
ness, on the part of the Slave-holding States, of exposing 
themselves to the certain consequences of an insurrection of 
their slaves, while they commit themselves to all the other 
hazards of a war for slavery with their free neighbours, — all 
the considerations and all the influences which pertain to the 
case, seem likely to combine against any other result than an 
unstained triumph of principle to the victors, and an involun- 
tarily acquired blessing to the vanquished. To insure a pacific 
and satisfactory result, our efforts should be directed to pre- 
vent what it will not be so easy to cure ; and the Slave-holding 
States, before they shall have proceeded so far as to make it 
difficult for them to retrace their steps, should be made to see 
and feel that there is an insuperable obstacle in their way,— and 
that they can never succeed in intimidating or cajoling the 
2 



14 

Free States into a dishonorable and fatal submission. By the 
avowal of our principles and purposes, and by the manifesta- 
tion of our readiness to cooperate with each other, they would 
be enabled to see that we understand our duty, and that we 
pledge our character to perform it ; and as soon as they feel, 
as they will then begin to feel, that they cannot safely advance a 
single step, — that disaster and disgrace await their efforts, — that 
the area of freedom may be enlarged within the Union as it is, 
but that the Union can never be extended for the purpose of 
augmenting the power and the evils of slavery, — it may be 
presumed that they will hesitate, pause, and begin to reflect, 
and that a very httle reflection will prompt them at least to 
self-preservation. 

In advocating the expediency of acting without distinction 
of party, such a mode of proceeding has been considered as 
alone worthy of the object, and as indispensable to its success. 
Whigs and Democrats may be supposed to be now as much 
attached as ever to the distinctive principles and measures of 
their respective parties. But as neither of these parties has 
been or can be constituted upon the avowed basis of opposing 
the annexation of Texas and the extension of slavery, it is 
plain that neither of them will afford a suitable organization 
for the purpose in view. In the Slave-holding States, it is easy 
to foresee, that, as the crisis approaches, party divisions will be 
absorbed in the devotion of all their citizens to the promotion 
of a common interest. It is desirable to witness in the Free 
States a corresponding readiness to present a united front in 
the maintenance of common rights. Unwelcome as may be 
the annunciation, it is time to declare that no national party 
organization can be maintained in good faith until the vexed 
question of the political power of slavery shall be once more com- 
promised or finally disposed of The bitter experience which 
has made compromises odious warns the Free States to pre- 
pare themselves for the alternative, by a timely truce to the 
divisions which must hinder the effect of the combined exer- 
tions of all their citizens. 



15 

In Massachusetts, why should we not be prepared to act 
without distinction of party ? The representatives of the peo- 
ple in the legislature, with perfect unanimity, have already 
defined the course of the State, and have spoken for their 
constituents in a tone to which this Appeal is but a faint 
response. It is understood throughout the country, and it 
is easy to see that the spirit of the act is everywhere deem- 
ed honorable to us, that in reference to the annexation of 
Texas, the citizens of Massachusetts, as an entire body, — 
Whigs and Democrats only vying with each other in their zeal 
to be unanimous, — have conmiitted themselves to the last ex- 
tremity of uncompromising and unconditional opposition. All 
that remains for us is, to redeem the pledge, and imitate the 
example of our representatives. 

The Whig party amongst us, none can doubt, is ready to 
make every effort and every sacrifice which the occasion re- 
quires. The Abolitionists must rejoice to find themselves en- 
abled at last to cooperate with their fellow-citizens for a pur- 
pose to which they have been specially devoted. But the 
Democrats, it is surmised, may disappoint our hopes, by yield- 
ing to a party obligation to sustain the President of their 
choice in carrying into effect his favorite measure. It may be 
that a portion of the leaders occupy just now an awkward po- 
sition upon this subject, from which they cannot readily extri- 
cate themselves. It may be that a portion of the party will 
be for a lime indisposed to lend their influence for any other 
purpose than the discouragement of our efforts. By the glare 
of torch-light, if not in open day, they have inscribed " Annex- 
ation " upon their party banner, and all their calculations in po- 
litical astronomy seem to be founded upon the approach of " the 
lone star" to the national constellation. But let us be just 
enough to admit that the Democrats of Massachusetts have not, 
as yet, as a party, forsworn their legislative pledge ; and that 
there is reason to hope that honest friends of equal rights 
can never become the dupes and tools of the supporters of 



16 

slavery. Let us rely upon many of them to remain with us 
upon the right side of the great practical question of American 
democracy ; not doubting, that, if they are democrats, tliey will 
prove themselves free citizens of Massachusetts, and as ready 
as any others to vindicate the rights and promote the interests 
of the Free State which gave them birth. 

Some will suggest, that, if, once and again, the legislature of 
Massachusetts has spoken for the people, and without party 
division, — if the public sentiment of Massachusetts is already 
everywhere understood, — it cannot be necessary, and is hardly 
expedient, to " make assurance doubly sure," and to " do the 
work over again." To this suggestion it may be replied, that 
it is our duty to resist, step by step, the progress of the design 
which we have undertaken to defeat ; and that, if the legisla- 
ture has spoken in vain, if the danger has increased, if the 
evil is approaching its consummation, a further effort should be 
made to avert it, and a heavier blow should be added to those 
which have been already struck. The result of the election 
produced a universal sensation of renewed alarm amongst the 
opponents of the annexation of Texas ; and no one can have 
since read the Message of the President and the correspon- 
dence of Mr. Calhoun, without feeling that the aspect of the 
case has changed for the worse, almost beyond the apprehen- 
sions of the most desponding, — and that the danger has now be- 
come so imminent as to justify and require, on the part of the 
people of the Free States, not only renewed, but the most 
direct, concerted, and vigorous action. 

It is easy to see that in our community there is a general 
uneasiness and deep anxiety upon this subject, — that the peo- 
ple desire to come together that they may deliberate and act, 
and that they anticipate a call for this purpose. The practical 
question is, not whether any thing shall be done, but whether 
the considerate and far-seeing will consent to step forward 
when they are expected and while they are waited for, — and 
not, by withholding themselves at the important moment, leave 



17 

it for others with less wisdom to lead and direct the inevitable 
movement. 

If any thing were wanting to convince the people of Massa- 
chusetts that their relation to the Slave-holding States cannot 
and should not remain what it is now, and that they should 
begin to inquire what they owe to their character and their rights 
when both have ceased to be respected, it would seem that the 
recent proceedings of the people of Charleston and the govern- 
ment of South Carolina in reference to Samuel Hoar might 
serve to dispel the last illusion, and to fix attention — not without 
a practical result — upon the legitimate effects of the slave-hold- 
ing system. Samuel Hoar, a citizen of Massachusetts, as 
much respected as any amongst us for his virtues, his talents, 
and his services, — a personification of the highest intellectual 
and moral traits of the New England character, — proceeds to 
South Carolina, under the authority of the Constitution of the 
United States, to discharge the duties of a legal agent of Mas- 
sachusetts. The object of his agency is to afford legal advice 
and assistance to free citizens of Massachusetts, liable to be 
deprived of their liberty, without the imputation of any crime, 
through the enforcement of a law of South Carolina, which 
her own eminent jurist, in the capacity of a Judge of the Su- 
preme Court of the United States, had years since declared 
to be utterly unconstitutional. Upon his arrival in Charles- 
ton, in a respectful manner he announces his official appoint- 
ment to the governor of the State. Before, however, he can 
enter upon the duties of his office, and while he is demeaning 
himself unoffensively as a private gendeman, this venerable 
man, with his gray hairs and his immaculate character, is 
marked as the victim of popular fury. In the face of day, he 
is rudely ejected from his lodgings, and, amidst the menaces 
of a mob, — with his daughter, too, as the sharer of his dan- 
ger, — in the public view of the citizens of Charleston, thus 
made the abettors, because the passive witnesses, of the outrage, 
— he is compelled to seek safety in flight. 



18 

To make the State in its higliest capacity responsible for 
the atrocity perpetrated by its citizens, the legislature at the 
same time see fit, by a series of Resolutions, summarily to de- 
nounce the object and ofBcial character of the agent of Massa- 
chusetts, and to authorize the governor to exercise the power 
of the State in expelling him from its territory. It is to be 
regretted that the official ceremony of expulsion could not have 
been enacted, and that this characteristic proceeding of the 
legislature should have been superseded by the more prompt, 
though not less dignified, action of the mob. For the present, 
let it suffice to say that the deed has been done, and that it 
cannot and shall not be forgotten. It shall be remembered as 
despoiling the escutcheon of the Palmetto State of the insignia 
of its former civic and social renown. For the future, let no 
son of Massachusetts incur the risk of presuming upon the 
hospitality of South Carolina, but leave her in her infamy to 
become the neglected abode of a degenerate race. 

Let Samuel Hoar return to Massachusetts ; but let him 
come back to witness the spirit with which his wrongs will be 
redressed, and to be cheered by the sympathy which will be 
manifested in his behalf. Let him come back to raise his 
voice where he will be heard with respect, in invoking his fellow- 
citizens to do justice alike to him and to themselves, and to 
place themselves in an attitude of uncompromising opposition 
to all the unconstitutional proceedings and designs of South 
Carolina. Let Samuel Hoar thus present himself, and be 
thus received in the proposed Convention of Massachusetts. 

In conclusion, let the whole subject be viewed for a moment 
on the dark side, and let us anticipate the crisis in its most 
discouraging aspect. Let us take it for granted that what has 
been recommended is to any important extent impracticable, — 
that there is no deeply rooted and wide-spread earnestness of 
thought and feeling among the people of the Free States, — 
that they feel no concern on account of the extension of slavery 
in itself considered, and that they have ceased to calculate its 



19 

consequences, — that, while the many have thus become in- 
different, the few who had not been so are inert through des- 
pondency, — that the result of the election, supposed to carry 
with it Annexation as a matter of course, has caused them to 
feel that all is over, that a protracted struggle must be fruitless, 
and that the country should be left to its fate. Let us sup- 
pose, when there is so much that seems like it, that all parties 
hug their prejudices and animosities too closely to be prepared 
to reconcile or suspend their differences for the common good ; 
that Whigs loathe an alliance with Abolitionists, — that Ab- 
olitionists care for nothing so much as to defeat Whigs, — and 
that Democrats, as a party in power, cannot forego the spoils 
of victory. Let us submit to the conclusion, that in many of 
the Free States, if circumstances continue as they are, noth- 
ing will be attempted, and that in most of them, as yet, nothing 
can be done. As some would persuade us, too, let us do the 
penance to suspect that even Massachusetts falters, — that her 
leaders hesitate, — that they are still counting the cost of the 
responsibility she has already assumed, — and that they ponder 
the policy of retiring behind the larger States, and of waiting 
for an example. With so many discouragements all around, 
and so many obstacles before us, let us still venture to ask and 
to answer the question, — What is our duty? Is it to 
cease from effort, because there is such necessity and so 
much scope for exertion ? Is it to postpone an attempt which 
can only become the more hopeless the longer it is delayed ? 
Is it to shut our eyes to the true state of the case, lest the 
stern rebuke of principle should silence the suggestions of ex- 
pedienc}', and a full view of our danger should make us feel 
that there is no alternative but a death-struggle ? Is it to wait 
for others when we are ready to act ? Is it, in the worst view, 
to submit at once to what through our irresolution appears in- 
evitable, — with dough-faced servility, again to compromise for 
our disgrace, and to abandon for ever our time-honored station 
in the vanguard of freedom ? 



20 

No ! No ! — Massachusetts must be Massachusetts still. 
Founded on the Rock of Plymouth, the strength of her char- 
acter is moral and religious principle. Baptized in the fire and 
blood of the Revolution, her patriotism will abide every test, 
and prove itself ready for any crisis. Rocked in the Cradle 
of Liberty, her children cannot be unfilial. Reared in Free 
Schools, her people must understand their duty. With her 
veteran and keen-scented sentinel upon the floor of Congress 
to give the first alarm of the certainty and political danger of 
this Texas plot, — with the spirit of her sainted Channing 
flashing, with a ray of heavenly illumination, upon every dark- 
ened conscience the scorching conviction of its inhuman and 
unchristian tendencies, — with her trusted Defender of the 
Constitution about once more to take his post in her behalf 
upon what seems its only remaining bulwark, — Massachusetts 
must be — is she not 9 — forewarned, forearmed, and ready 
for the contest. She cannot falter, — let her proceed. Amidst 
difficulties and dangers by which it may be recognized, the 
path of duty lies plain before her. Let her heart be moved, 
— all fears will vanish, and every unclean spirit will be cast 
out. Let her voice be heard, — the country and the world 
will respond to it. Let her act, — History will record the 
event. 

To sum up all in one word, — the crisis is at hand. Mas- 
sachusetts IS READY. It only remains for Faneuil Hall 
to give the watchword, A Convention — to the rescue ! 

A MASSACHUSETTS FREEMAN. 



SECOND EDITION. 

Since the publication of the first edition, the information has 
been received, that the President has transmitted a Special Mes- 
sage to Congress, urging immediate action upon his recommen- 
dation to annex Texas by a joint resolution. If Uny thing is 
to he done, therefore, by Massachusetts, and the other Free 
States, NOT A MOMENT should be lost. 



W46 



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